Audre Lorde's poetic genius shines out even in her prose. This tale of her early life and loves is rich and immediate. I won't try to sum up the events of her life in a few short lines- that won't do this book any justice. Suffice to say that it made the New York of the 1940s and 50s more vividly real to me than any other piece of writing I've encountered, and was aching in its description of what it was like to be young, Black and lesbian at that time. I can't wait to get started on some of her essays, and hear more about the dreams and thoughts that are hinted at and woven into these remembrances.